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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be railroaded via any other business into discussions of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks were made during his first public intervention since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.